The situation seems to have taken US forces by surprise

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has ordered all NATO and American troops to leave the Wardak province within 2 weeks.

Karzai told a meeting of the National Security Council that "it became clear that armed individuals named as US special force stationed in Wardak province engage in harassing, annoying, torturing and even murdering innocent people."

The BBCquotes Karzai making more detailed, shocking allegations: "A recent example in the province is an incident in which nine people were disappeared in an operation by this suspicious force and in a separate incident a student was taken away at night from his home, whose tortured body with throat cut was found two days later under a bridge."

It's not clear exactly which forces were responsible. "Afghan officials indicated that the Afghan [troops] were the main suspects," reports the NYTimes, while "the Americans were seen as enabling the abuses rather than perpetrating them."

Karzai's spokesman shed some further light on the decision: "it is better to make the Special Forces withdraw from the province, and let the local people understand that they are facing only Afghan forces. That will bring clarity to the situation."

The last time Afghanistan was left to its own devices, the Taliban took over, they began executing people in the main sports stadium, and the sheltered the Al Qaeda terrorists who bombed New York. I wish to God I had some solution but I'm afraid I'm not sure that leaving them alone will save American lives.

there is a number of realities here. The first is that more money is leaving Afghanistan every year than their GNP. Where do you suppose that money comes from? The USA puppet govt is socking away money around the world to levels any dictator would be proud of. Yet our troops don't have proper armor to this day and the Afgan govt is thought to be the most corrupt in the entire world. Always has been. Moving troops out of provinces is a way to stall the Taliban by literally giving back the province to the warlords (in this case the Northern Alliance) so they can work to build their fiefdom prior to Karzaa breaking and running. And break and run he will the second we're gone. He won't last six months.

Bush screwed up Aghanistan, Obama has done the same. The level of corruption by our Military suppliers, by the Afgan culture, by our own govt precludes our nation building successfully anywhere today. We got Bin Laden, that was the point, there is no excuse to talk bout "we'll be out in two more years". No we won't. We will still be pouring money into the country paying off someone like a kid giving a bully his lunch money so they won't attack us again. And they'll attack u again. Islam is at war with the world.. We need to pull out NOW and inform them not another dime and if they attack us again they get nuked. Simple as that.

"Where do you suppose that money comes from?" Poppies... opium... weapons trafficking... "The level of corruption by our Military suppliers, by the Afghan culture, by our own govt precludes our nation building successfully anywhere today." True... and why are we even involved in nation-building? There are no successful incidents of nation-building by military using guns and bombs. "Islam is at war with the world" No, Isalimc extremists are at war with thw world. Isalm itself is a peaceful religion... but just like Christianity, you have those sects who use their religion to subjugate and oppress. And Islam is a religion, not a nation. The nations we are blowing up are also victims of extremist groups. That would be like bombing the entire state of Texas because of the violent gangs that live there.

@DogLady_1 There are no peaceful religions. When Hindu's allow the abuse of women that goes on in India that is not peaceful. When Buddist monks set themselves on fire that is not peaceful. Christianity has a disgusting track record equal to Islam. Islam is at war with the world because there is no rebuttal by "peaceful Islam" to their extremists. When Christian extremists go over the line we take them down like in Waco. Nobody in Islam takes down their extremists. Wake up. Saudi Arabia is our strongest Muslim country ally and they abuse women and children every day. No thanks. There are no civilians in Islam. And that money/ Get real. They don't make money trafficking weapons. To who? they BUY weapons not sell them. Jezz Louise that's irrational. And poppy.opium is most controlled by the Taliban. They make that money and buy weapons. The money being salted away out of the country is money the USA and the world bank and others have given the Afgan govt for "nation building" and the nation it's building is the bank accounts of karizaa and his cohorts.

@jessejaymes - "There are no peaceful religions." That's only true if you only look at the acts of those that are rejected by the peaceful followers of the religion. I think you are ignoring the billions of the peace-loving religous practitioners in the world... violent people will find numerous reasons to justify their violent behavior. God is a popular scapegoat. No civilians in Islam? Yeah, that's their rationale too... And they consider you an evil Zionist because you are American, even if you insist you are not a Jew or a Christian... you are not very different from them with that attitude... And there is plenty of rebuttal, condemnation and protest by peaceful Islamists about those who kill in their god's name. Again, you just aren't looking for it.

@DogLady_1 Well you know I did my turn at being a pacifist and I've watched this world go up in flames over my lifetime and we've not had one Hitler or one Stalin behind it. It's always religion. No thanks.

@jessejaymes - Well, I've never tried my hand at pacifism and I have watched this world go up in flames over my lifetime... And I denounce those who use my religion as a justification for the very things my religion condemns. I think it's stupid to fight wars for religious reasons too. You are stereotyping... Not all religious people are like al qaeda or the Spanish Inquisition. And Hitler opposed organized religion and Stalin was an atheist. Both hated religious people. That is what motivated them to kill religious people. But why do you reject God because of something humans did?

But if we leave, then everyone would have to admit that Ron Paul was but one of handful of elected officials that had it right all along. What good does it do if we save Anbar, but lose Arizona? Taking care of matters at home has never looked so good and a policy that is not financed by our kids.

Is this calling the pot calling.the kettle black. This is possible, in war a lot things happen. What is going to fill the void when the troops leave. They will be wishing the had our.troops to kick around. If by some chance they want us back so sorry banned from area.

It's just another failed attempt throughout history (maybe w/exception of Aleksandar the Great) of a foreign invader trying to conquer and control Afghanistan...our arrogance, greed and hardheadedness is getting our children killed, not counting all the other human beings being murdered, time to come home...Empire building has no place in our modern (?) societies!

@wonka45ACP I agree whole heartedly, if we could have interrogated the guys we caught planting I.E.Ds properly and however necessary in Iraq we could have saved lives and gotten the ones building them.

If Karzai is going to survive once we pull out, he's going to have to be perceived as something more than an American puppet. This is one opportunity to paint that picture and leave an area that can get along without us. Despite the nasty allegations, it's win/win.

I'm all good with American soldiers torturing the enemies were the only ones playing by the rules just YouTube the beheadings of American soldier's and tell me how much you care about the combatants feelings and rights after that God bless are troops and I hope they come home soon but until they do givem Hell boys and girls for the intrest of being pc

I know we have had some bad apples, but when it comes to torture, NO ONE beats the folks from this part of the world. In ancient Iraq there were even LARGE, COLORFUL murals devoted to the many different types of torture, mutilation, and other ghastly abuses of the human body these folks practiced in so-called sophisticated civilizations and were so proud of they glorified it through huge "works of art" for eons of years to "appreciate". I don't think there's ANYTHING any American, even US Special Forces, can teach these folks on the subject of torture. Karzai is just pandering to his constituency, with which he is not too popular.